Max Factor Names Marilyn Monroe Its Global Ambassador

Before she was a movie star, she was a Max Factor client in the 1940s.

To celebrate 80 years of business, beauty brand Max Factor is bringing back one of its most famous clients for their new ad campaign. Marilyn Monroe has been named the company's global ambassador, and her image will be featured in print and television ads starting this month.

The movie star, who died in 1962, was a Max Factor client in the 1940s, back when she was Norma Jeane Mortenson. According to the Telegraph, the ads will note makeup's role in taking her from girl-next-door beauty to bombshell. "Through expert diagnosis and make-up artistry, Norma Jeane's facial features were pulled out and dramatized through make-up," Pat McGrath, the company's global creative design director, said in a press release.

Since her Max Factor makeover, the company says, she made red lips and lined eyes synonymous with classic Hollywood glamour. And decades after her death, Monroe's estate still makes millions every year; Max Factor had to specially license her image for the campaign, which features both Norma Jeane and Marilyn.

Looking back, it should be no surprise Max Factor chose Monroe as its newest spokesmodel; its previous face, Gwyneth Paltrow, sported a decidedly Marilyn-esque look for part of last year's campaign, inspired by the 1940s.

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